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Overview
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Patch Notes v6.9
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Greetings, summoners.

Welcome to patch 6.9, the one where it's Midseason. You may notice the sweet new layout (if you're reading this in the patcher, we recommend heading to the web) - that's because this ain't your ordinary run-of-the-mill patch!

Midseason is a time for us to reflect on what parts of Preseason worked and what didn't, and take large strides to keep League fresh. We identified two areas of improvement for Midseason: adding cohesion to the mage class, and shaking up the strategy surrounding objectives. Let's dive in.

While thematically strong (who doesn't like casting spells?), mages have historically lacked a cohesive identity beyond 'damage that's magic.' Some are long-ranged, some are short-ranged, some are Fiddlesticks, you get the idea. A lack of clear expectations combined with the sheer size of the class means there's a lot of redundancy across the mage roster. In the end, this puts mages in a spot where the answer to 'who should I play?' is always 'whoever's numerically strongest'.

That's a lot of rhetoric in one paragraph, but you get the idea. Like marksmen and juggernauts before them, mages are getting a class-wide update, drawing out their individual strengths and cranking them up to 11. If your favorite spellslinger didn't get directly changed, never fear - mage items have also been recalibrated to enable more diverse playstyles. Time will tell how impactful the changes are, but one thing's for sure: it's a good patch for folks that love ability power.

Circling back, let's talk objectives. Current balance between mapwide objectives is pretty off-kilter, with turrets taking the lion's share of strategic value. Our goal with Midseason isn't just to spiffy up the jungle bosses and buffs, but to make contesting them a viable option when weighed against sieging or defending an turret. By diversifying the rewards on the map, we create an environment where teams constantly re-evaluate the importance of objectives as the game progresses. Between controlling, contesting, and trading, there's a lot to take (and a lot to take in), but adaptation is key to coming out on top.

And that's all we have for today! Be sure to to check out the whole thing (it's a doozy) and we'll see you on the other side, Proto-Belting forward recklessly and drinking in the chaos. It's times like these where experimentation is best rewarded - just remember to credit us if Jungle Syndra really takes off.

Good luck, have fun.

ScarizardIcon Patrick "Scarizard" Scarborough
AetherIcon Paul "Aether" Perscheid
Gentleman GustafIcon Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman

Hotfixes

 5/9/2016 Balance Update

Even this early out of the gate, it's clear that a few of our mage updates have fallen into 'balance outlier' territory. We're making some mid-patch adjustments to help them make it to 6.10, when we can follow up with further changes if necessary.

MalzaharSquare   Malzahar

Malzahar is powering through both lane and jungle a bit too well. We're hitting the efficiency of his spells to slow his roll.

Call of the Void Q - Call of the Void

COST : [60 mana] 80 mana

Void Swarm W - Void Swarm

COST : [60 mana] 80 mana
Voidly Duration : [75%] 50%
Neutral Monster Damage Reduction : [12 seconds at all ranks] 10/10.5/11/11.5/12 seconds

Nether Grasp R - Nether Grasp

NULL ZONE DAMAGE PER SECOND : [6/8/10%] 5/7/9% maximum health

CassiopeiaSquare   Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia's update shaved a little too much power off of Twin Fang. Rather than raw damage buffs, we're giving back a bit of its uptime.

Twin Fang E - Twin Fang

Cooldown : [0.9 seconds] 0.75 seconds
COST : [60/65/70/75/80 mana] 40/45/50/55/60 mana
RANGE : [550 (from Cassiopeia's hitbox edge to her opponent's)] 700 (from Cassiopeia's hitbox center to her opponent's.) Overall, slight increase against small targets and slight decrease against large targets.

VladimirSquare   Vladimir

Vladimir's having difficulty translating his early game strength into late game impact. A bit of love for his Q and E should help him scale out of lane and into teamfights.

Transfusion Q - Transfusion

CRIMSON RUSH HEALING BONUS : [2.5% missing health per 100 ability power ] 4% missing health per 100 ability power

Tides of Blood E - Tides of Blood

damage : [30/40/50/60/70 to 60/80/100/120/140] 30/45/60/75/90 to 60/90/120/150/180

SwainSquare   Swain

We're upping Swain's rewards for good Decrepify plays to help offset the loss of reliability. Just as important: his ult's no longer bugged to stop him in his tracks mid-combo.

Decrepify Q - Decrepify

DAMAGE : [25/40/55/70/85 per second] 30/50/70/90/110 per second

Ravenous Flock Passive - Ravenous Flock

bugfix : Fixed a bug where Ravenous Flock's cast time wasn't instant

MordekaiserSquare   Mordekaiser

Children of the Grave R - Children of the Grave

bugfix : Spawning a Dragon ghost no longer breaks the minimap's respawn timer (scoreboard timer was unaffected)

 Mastery Deathfire Touch  Deathfire Touch

bugfix : Fixed a bug where single target and area-effect abilities were applying the 1 second burn, rather than 4 and 2 seconds respectively

Major Mage Update

VladimirSquare   Vladimir

Kicking off the Mage update, Vladimir’s changes are all about embracing his love of sustain and pushing it to the extreme. While Vlad’s high-stakes health management is compelling, his lack of windows for interaction (don’t be in range of Q) leaves opponents far less enthused. This is where many of Vlad’s balancing issues stem from. If Vlad’s too strong, he stat-checks you out of the lane, nullifying your aggression and healing it all right back. Following the same vein, a weak Vlad does most of the opponent’s job for them a damaging himself constantly while desperately trying to scale into the lategame.

Enter Midseason. To support Vladimir’s eccentric tastes, we’re looking to inject more interaction into the Crimson Reaper’s rotation. Vladimir’s swings are much more dramatic a larger health costs yield greater damage and healing, but also greater risk. Timing’s more important for Vlad as well: Crimson Rush’s cadence means Transfusion’s persistent threat goes down, while Tides of Blood’s new positional requirement can make or break a close-quarters encounter. We’re all for enabling Vlad’s indulgent, drain-tanking fantasy a provided he can survive long enough for his second wind to start the sustain train all over again.

General

BASE HEALTH : [543] 550
HEALTH GROWTH STAT : [85] 84
BASE ATTACK DAMAGE : [48] 52
ICONS : Vladimir has all-new ability icons

Crimson Pact Passive - Crimson Pact

BONUS HEALTH TO ABILITY POWER : Gain 1 ability power per [40 bonus health] 25 bonus health
ABILITY POWER TO BONUS HEALTH : Gain [1.4 bonus health] 1 bonus health per ability power

Transfusion Q - Transfusion

COOLDOWN : [10/8.5/7/5.5/4 seconds] 9/8/7/6/5 seconds
DAMAGE : [90/125/160/195/230] 80/100/120/140/160
DAMAGE RATIO : [0.6 ability power] 0.45 ability power
HEALING : 15/25/35/45/55 (unchanged)
HEALING RATIO : [0.25 ability power] 0.15 ability power
CRIMSON RUSH After casting Transfusion twice, Vladimir gains Crimson Rush once Transfusion comes off cooldown. While under the effects of Crimson Rush, Vladimir gains a short burst of speed and his next Transfusion within a short period of time deals double damage and heals for a portion of his missing health.
CRIMSON RUSH DURATION : 2.5 seconds
CRIMSON RUSH HEALING BONUS : 40-240 (at levels 1-18) plus 1% missing health per 40 ability power

Sanguine Pool W - Sanguine Pool

DAMAGE RATIO : [0.15 bonus health] 0.10 bonus health

Tides of Blood E - Tides of Blood
Vladimir charges up a reservoir of blood, paying a portion of his maximum health over a second to increase Tides of Blood’s damage. On release (or after 1.5 seconds), Vladimir unleashes a nova of blood missiles, dealing damage to the first enemy hit in a large area around him.

COST : 2.5% - 10% maximum health (based on charge duration)
COOLDOWN : 9/8/7/6/5 seconds
RANGE : 600
DAMAGE : 30/40/50/60/70 - 60/80/100/120/140 (based on charge duration)
RATIO : (1 per 40 maximum health)+(0.35 ability power) - (1 per 10 maximum health)+(0.7 ability power) based on charge duration
HEAVY : At full charge, Vladimir is slowed while holding Tides of Blood. Fully charged Tides of Blood slows enemies hit by 40% for 0.5 seconds.

Hemoplague R - Hemoplague

DURATION : [5 seconds] 4 seconds
DAMAGE AMPLIFICATION : [12%] 10% increased damage from all sources
HEALOPLAGUE Upon detonation, Hemoplague heals Vladimir for each enemy hit.
BASE HEAL 75/125/175 per target
HEAL RATIO 0.35 ability power per target

MalzaharSquare   Malzahar

Malzahar faces a constant dilemma: never use his abilities in lane or push constantly. This playstyle causes Malzahar to be very binary and non interactive; either he has enough AP to drop his spells on a wave and leave lane or he slowly pushes out, leaving him exposed to constant ganks. As well, the nature of his ultimatcancelable by any CC amakes Malzahar’s curve binary by necessity: you either stop his channel or somebody dies.

In both cases, what Malzahar needs is leeway; a brief window of protection. Adding that window allows us to dial back on Malzahar’s burst and wave clear while giving him more sustained threat in a larger fight. Malz’s actions shouldn’t feel inevitable, but at least he’ll feel less bad about trying to make plays.

He’ll still be the consistently damaging voidling master, but he should feel better about brawling near the frontlines when he brings more sustained cooldowns and a little bit of protection.

General

SPLASH : Malzahar’s splash art has been updated
TEXTURES : Malzahar’s base textures have been updated
ICONS : Malzahar has all-new ability powericons

Void Shift Passive - Void Shift
Malzahar skirts the line between dimensions, activating Void Shift after avoiding direct damage for a period of time. During Void Shift, Malzahar takes heavily reduced damage and is immune to crowd control. Malzahar loses Void Shift a second after taking damage from a non-minion source or blocking a crowd control effect

VOID SHIFT DAMAGE REDUCTION : 90%
VOID SHIFT COOLDOWN : 23-6 seconds after taking direct damage (at levels 1-18)

Call of the Void Q - Call of the Void

COST : [80/85/90/95/100 mana] 60 mana
COOLDOWN : [9 seconds] 6 seconds
DAMAGE : [80/135/190/245/300] 70/110/150/190/230
RATIO : [0.8 ability power] 0.7 ability power
CAST TIME : [0.25 seconds] 0.5 seconds
DELAY AFTER CAST TIME [0.5 seconds] Removed

Void Swarm W - Void Swarm
Summons a Voidling. The first time Voidling attacks a champion, large monster, or epic monster, or assists in killing a unit, Malzahar spawns a new Voidling with the same remaining duration. When a or more Voidlings are active, they each gain 50% attack speed.

COST : 60 mana
COOLDOWN : 20/19/18/17/seconds
RANGE : 450
VOIDLING DURATION : 12 seconds
VOIDLING DAMAGE ON-HIT 10/15/20/25/30 :
VOIDLING DAMAGE RATIO : 0.3/0.325/0.35/0.375/0.4 total attack damage + 0.1 ability power
MINION HATE : Voidlings deal triple damage to lane minions below 25% health
MONSTER SYMPATHY : Voidlings deal 75% damage to monsters
LOCKED OUT : Additional Voidlings won’t spawn if the current Voidling has less than 4 seconds of duration left.
TARGETING : Voidlings prefer to attack targets afflicted by Malefic Visions or Nether Grasp, gaining 100% movement speed when moving toward them
THINK FOR YOURSELVES! Voidlings no longer prefer to attack champions that Malzahar has basic attacked

Malefic Visions E - Malefic Visions

COST : [60/75/90/105/120 mana] 60/70/80/90/100 mana
DAMAGE : [80/140/200/260/320] 80/115/150/185/220
RATIO : [0.8 ability power] 0.7 ability power
MANA REFUND ON AFFLICTED KILL : [10/14/18/22/26 mana] 2% maximum mana
KEEP WATCHING : If an afflicted enemy is hit by Call of the Void or Nether Grasp, Malefic Visions’ duration is refreshed.

Nether Grasp R - Nether Grasp
Malzahar suppresses a target champion for 2.5 seconds and creates a zone of negative energy around them that deals damage to all enemies inside for the duration.

NULL ZONE DURATION : 5 seconds
DAMAGE : [250/360/440] 6/8/10% maximum health per second to all targets in the Null Zone
RATIO : [1.3 ability power] 1.5% of the target’s maximum health per 100 ability power, per second
CAST TIME [0.25 seconds] Removed

CassiopeiaSquare   Cassiopeia

True to her half-snake nature, Cassiopeia bears twin identities of “poison mage” and “lightning-fast viper strikes.” However, the high-input gameplay of Twin Fang has left Cassiopeia wanting for greater impact in her poisons, instead viewing them as a gating condition for her combo damage.

Rather than giving her more damaging poisons (Singed has that market cornered), we’ve sharpened Cassiopeia’s poison fantasy by linking Miasma to another snake fantasy: immobilization. The new Miasma lets Cassiopeia weaponize her own immobility by bringing opponents to her level. By limiting the ability power of champions to leave her kill zone, Cassiopeia dictates the ranges of an engagement, keeping foes at a distance where she can wail on them safely. Should her opponents play around Miasma, however, Cassiopeia loses that control and faces swift punishment from the champions she sought to keep at bay.

General

BASE MOVEMENT SPEED : [335] 328
SMALL SCALE ADJUSTMENTS : Several of Cassiopeia’s other base stats have been slightly adjusted
ICONS : Cassiopeia has all-new ability icons

Serpentine Grace Passive - Serpentine Grace

SNAKES DON’T NEED BOOTS : Cassiopeia gains 4 movement speed per level. Cassiopeia cannot purchase Boots items.

Noxious Blast Q - Noxious Blast

COST : [40/50/60/70/80 mana] 60/65/70/75/80 mana
COOLDOWN : [4 seconds] 3.5 seconds
DAMAGE : [75/115/155/195/235] 75/120/165/210/255
RATIO : [0.45 ability power] 0.7 ability power
CAST RANGE : [850] 750
BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED ON HIT : [20%] 30/35/40/45/50%, decaying over the duration

Miasma W - Miasma
Cassiopeia spews venom in an arc in front of her, leaving toxic clouds fofew seconds. Enemies in the cloud are continually poisoned, slowing and Grounding them, prohibiting the use of movement abilities.

COST : 70 mana
COOLDOWN : 22/20/18/16/14 seconds
DURATION : 5 seconds
DAMAGE : 20/35/50/65/80 per second
RATIO : 0.15 ability power per second
SLOW : 40/50/60/70/80%, decaying over the duration
RANGE : 550-800
CLOUD RADIUS : 160

Twin Fang E - Twin Fang

COST : [50/60/70/80/90 mana] 60/65/70/75/80 mana
COOLDOWN : [5 seconds] 0.9 seconds
DAMAGE : [55/80/105/130/155] 52-120 (at levels 1-18)
RATIO : [0.55 ability power] 0.1 ability power
COOLDOWN RESET No longer reduces the cooldown to 0.5 seconds upon hitting a poisoned target
MANA POSITIVE No longer refunds an additional 1.5% of Cassiopeia’s maximum mana on kill (still refunds 100% of the cost)
SNAKE BITE If the target is Poisoned, Twin Fang deals an additional 10/40/70/100/130 (+0.35 ability power) damage
HEAL If the target is Poisoned, Twin Fang also heals Cassiopeia for 5/10/15/20/25
HEAL RATIO : 0.1 ability power

Petrifying Gaze R - Petrifying Gaze

COOLDOWN : [120/110/100 seconds] 120/100/80 seconds
SLOW : [60% on targets facing away] 40% on targets facing away

ZyraSquare   Zyra

Zyra’s function as a zone-controlling plant mage has always been clear, but Midseason presented an opportunity to really let her playstyle bloom. Zyra’s plants are key to this zone-controlling strategy, but Rampant Growth’s seed-dispensing limitations have always left her wanting more. Zyra’s fantasy promises a sprawling landscape of minions to grow and do her bidding, but ends up as ‘grow two plants on a moderate cooldown that die pretty easily’.

Now, Zyra doesn’t just plant a garden -she is the garden. Cultivating the ‘Rise of the Thorns’ into more than just a title, Zyra’s becoming a walking zone of threat, deploying seeds that grow into explosive teamfight potential the longer she’s in an area. Combining Stranglethorns’ plant-enhancing frenzy with more plants than ever before, Zyra’s reclaiming her strategic identity as the disengage pick, making would-be divers heed the warning to keep off the grass.

General

BASE HEALTH : [479] 499
BASE MOVEMENT SPEED : [325] 340
TEXTURES : Zyra’s base textures have been updated
ICONS : Zyra has all-new ability icons

Garden of Thorns Passive - Garden of Thorns
Seeds spawn around Zyra periodically, becoming faster with level. If an enemy champion steps on a seed, it dies. If Zyra is hiding in brush, seeds will not spawn until she reveals herself. Casting Deadly Spines or Grasping Roots near seeds causes them to grow into Plants. Plants of the same type deal 50% less damage against the same target.

PASSIVE SEED LIFETIME : 30 seconds
PLANT HEALTH : 4
PLANT DAMAGE : [23-140 (at levels 1-18)] 19-127 (at levels 1-18)
PLANT RATIO : [0.2 ability power] 0.15 ability power
SIGHTLESS SEEDS : Unlike seeds spawned by Rampant Growth, seeds spawned by Garden of Thorns grant no vision passively or when stepped on

Deadly Spines Q - Deadly Spines

NAME : [Deadly Bloom] Deadly Spines
COST : [75 mana] 60 mana
DAMAGE : [70/105/140/175/210] 60/90/120/150/180
RATIO : [0.65 ability power] 0.55 ability power
PLANTER BOX Size increased; now grows in a rectangle instead of a circle
OVERGROWTH Grows plants slightly outside of the damage area (like Grasping Roots)

Rampant Growth W - Rampant Growth

W SEED LIFETIME : [30 seconds] 60 seconds
COOLDOWN REDUCTION No longer grants cooldown reduction
MAXIMUM PLANT HEALTH 10/20/30/40/50%

Stranglethorns R - Stranglethorns

PLANT FRENZY No longer grants 50% attack speed to Plants
PLANT IMPACT Plants enraged by Stranglethorns deal 50% bonus damage

BrandSquare   Brand

Brand's always been the guy who sets the world on fire with area damage and percent-health burns. Unfortunately for him, the proliferation of the percent-health mechanic in other spaces has robbed him of half of that identity. Even among mages, the Rylai's/Liandry's combo allows other champions to fill the same niche. This leaves Brand as a pretty generic source of damage, meaning he’s only picked when overtuned, rather than for any strategic purpose.

We're updating Blaze to cement Brand's status as the go-to battle mage for AoE damage. No one punishes a team for clumping together like Brand: the new Blaze creates a volatile chain reaction as detonations stack Blaze onto all enemies caught in the blast, hastening their own detonations for even more explosive damage. Toss in a markedly more sadistic targeting system for Pyroclasm, and Brand becomes a true living inferno.

General

ICONS : Brand has all-new ability icons

Blaze Passive - Blaze

YOU DROP THE BOMB ON ME Blaze stacks up to three times. Upon reaching maximum stacks, Blaze detonates in a large area around the target.
BLAZE DAMAGE : [8% of the target’s maximum health over 4 seconds] 2% of the target’s maximum health over 4 seconds per stack
DETONATION DAMAGE : 12-16% of the target’s maximum health (at levels 1-9)
DETONATION RATIO : +1.5% of the target’s maximum health per 100 ability power
WET FUSE : Brand can’t stack Blaze on targets who have exploded in the past 4 seconds

Sear Q - Sear

DAMAGE : [80/120/160/200/240] 80/110/140/170/200
RATIO : [0.65] 0.55
STUN DURATION : [2 seconds] 1.5 seconds

Pillar of Flame W - Pillar of Flame

COOLDOWN : [10 seconds] 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 seconds
COST : [70/80/90/100/110 mana] 60/70/80/90/100 mana

Conflagration E - Conflagration

DAMAGE : [70/105/140/175/210] 70/90/110/130/150
RATIO : [0.55 ability power] 0.35 ability power
COOLDOWN : [12/11/10/9/8 seconds] 10/9/8/7/6 seconds

Pyroclasm R - Pyroclasm

DAMAGE : [150/250/350] 100/200/300
RATIO : [0.5 ability power] 0.25 ability power
HEATING UP Now prioritizes detonating Blaze on champions. This means that Pyroclasm now prioritizes champions by default and prefers targets with 2, 1, and 0 stacks (rather than 3) in an attempt to trigger a detonation.
BLAZE BONUS : Briefly slows enemies for 30/45/60%

Vel'KozSquare   Vel'Koz

Vel'Koz has some cool things going for him a his research-and-destroy thematic, the combo playstyle of his e, and his giant face laser to namfew. Problem is, there's no direction to these aspects. It makes little difference how or in what order Vel'Koz uses his abilities, so long as he hits them all to maximize his e procs. Repeated bursts of true damage are good in any situation, so where does Vel’Koz shine?

While some of our other mage updates overhaul the tools that define them, we're surgically adjusting Vel’Koz’s existing kit to accentuate his identity. Namely, Life Form Disintegration Ray's interaction with Organic Deconstruction has changed. Instead of quickly stacking his e against anything in its path, Vel'Koz's laser now requires him to do his research first, paying off the investment with massive amounts of true damage. Where Organic Deconstruction stings, Disintegration Ray burns, making Vel'Koz is the artillery mage to pick when you need to melt through beefy tanks and fighters.

Organic Deconstruction Passive - Organic Deconstruction

DAMAGE : [35 - 205 (at levels 1-18)] 33 - 169 (at levels 1-18)
RATIO Now additionally scales with 0.4 ability power

Plasma Fission Q - Plasma Fission

MANA POSITIVE Refunds 50% of its mana cost for each unit killed by Plasma Fission (up to a max of 150%)

Void Rift W - Void Rift

FIRST HIT RATIO : [0.25 ability power] 0.15 ability power
SECOND HIT RATIO : [0.375 ability power] 0.25 ability power

Tectonic Disruption E - Tectonic Disruption

RATIO : [0.5 ability power] 0.3 ability power

Life Form Disintegration Ray R - Life Form Disintegration Ray

RESEARCH AND DESTROY Deconstructed champions become Researched for the next 7 seconds (refreshed by basic attacks and abilities). Life Form Disintegration Ray deals true damage to Researched targets instead of magic damage.
STACKBOT No longer applies stacks of Organic Deconstruction
DAMAGE : [500/700/900] 500/725/950
RATIO : [0.6 ability power] 1.0 ability power
COOLDOWN : [130/110/90 seconds] 120/110/80 seconds

Minor Mage Updates

AniviaSquare   Anivia

One of our oldest champions, Anivia’s always been a power-pick for those willing to weather the storm of her steep mastery curve. While her strategic identity as a counter to heavy sieging is already strong, we saw an opportunity with Midseason to sharpen her traits as a disruptor even further. By focusing into her already-potent CC, Anivia cements herself as

General

BASIC ATTACK MISSILE SPEED : [1400] 1500

Flash Frost Q - Flash Frost

DAMAGE : [60/90/120/150/180] 60/85/110/135/160
RATIO : [0.5 ability power] 0.4 ability power
STUN DURATION : [1 second] 1.1/1.2/1.3/1.4/1.5 seconds
SLOW : [20%] 20/30/40% (scaling with rank of Glacial Storm)

Frostbite E - Frostbite

MISSILE SPEED : [1200] 1600
CAST RANGE : [650, measured from Anivia’s hitbox center to her opponent’s] 600, measured from Anivia’s hitbox edge to her opponent’s (overall range buff of ~35)

Glacial Storm R - Glacial Storm

CAST RANGE : [625] 685
RADIUS : [400] 150
SLOW : [20% at all ranks] 20/30/40%
ATTACK SPEED SLOW No longer slows attack speed
GLACIAL EXPANSION Now expands to a radius of 400 over 3 seconds
FINAL FORM At maximum size, Glacial Storm’s damage, chill duration and slow are increased by 50%

AnnieSquare   Annie
Bears.

Annie's simplicity as one of League’s original 40 belies a surprising amount of depth, but there arfew areas where her gameplay simply needs to be brought up to modern standards. The first is the lack of clarity around her stun. A skilled Annie learns to bypass Pyromania's indicator by sitting on three stacks, then burning Molten Shield to proc Pyromania as she throws out a near-instant stun. While this lends some degree of mastery to Annie's kit, it means a significant chunk of her has been tied to outplaying the UI. Pyromania is now tracked on a resource bar and we’re moving that elsewhere -- more on that later.

The other half of Pyromania’s problem is actually Molten Shield, whose outdated design doesn’t offer enough for Annie to value it as anything other than a cheap Pyromania stack. Molten Shield is being modernized to a shorter, situationally powerful tool with clearer anti-burst uses against the likes of Zed ult, giving Annie a reason to feel good about it.

Returning to the question of how we’re compensating Annie for losing her invisible stun, that is being reallocated to Tibbers, the most unrealized aspect of Annie's fantasy as pyro girl with giant bear guardian. For being such an integral part of Annie’s character, Tibbers serves little purpose outside of a safer AoE spell than Incinerate foflash-stun combo. We're putting some fury into Tibbers’ bear swipes and smartening up his AI to make him a persistent threat until killed, befitting his status as the infernal familiar Annie's always deserved.

Pyromania Passive - Pyromania

LET’S COUNT TO FIVE : Pyromania stacks are now displayed under Annie’s health bar (similar to Jhin’s bullets)

Incinerate W - Incinerate

RANGE : [560] 625
HEAT WAVE : Fixed a bug where units would be hit if they had escaped the area after the cast

Molten Shield E - Molten Shield

DURATION : [5 seconds] 2.5 seconds
DAMAGE ON BEING BASIC ATTACKED : [20/30/40/50/60] 30/45/60/75/90
DAMAGE RETURN RATIO : [0.2 ability power] 0.3 ability power
RESISTANCES No longer gives 10/20/30/40/50 armor and magic resist
DAMAGE REDUCTION Now gives 16/22/28/34/40% damage reduction for the duration
SPEED BEAR No longer speeds up Tibbers

Summon Tibbers R - Summon: Tibbers

DAMAGE : [175/300/425] 150/275/400
RATIO : [0.8 ability power] 0.65 ability power
AURA DAMAGE : [20/30/40] 10/15/20
AURA RATIO : [0.2 ability power] 0.1 ability power
TIBBERS ATTACK DAMAGE : [80/105/130] 50/75/100
TIBBERS ATTACK RATIO 0.15 ability power
TIBBERS ATTACK RANGE : [125] 150
PRESENCE OF MIND : Tibbers’ AI has been improved to better follow Annie’s commands and reduce cases where he suddenly stops doing anything
FOLLOW ME Annie can command Tibbers to follow her by selecting herself as Tibbers’ target
KEEP UP While out of combat for at least a seconds, Tibbers gains movement speed when moving toward Annie and regenerates 6.0% of his maximum health every second
BEARROIDS : Tibbers enrages on summon, ignoring unit collision and gaining 275% bonus attack speed and 100% bonus movement speed (decaying over 3 seconds)
BURNING RAGE : Using Pyromania on an enemy champion also causes Tibbers to enrage
BEAR VENGEANCE : If Annie dies while Tibbers is summoned, Tibbers instantly regenerates 50% of his missing health, enrages, and targets Annie’s killer. If Annie’s killer is too far away, Tibbers will focus the lowest health champion instead.

FiddlesticksSquare   Fiddlesticks

Fiddlesticks is a special type of immobile: he actually has to stand still to use some of his abilities, leaving him slow to respond when team fights move away from him. By giving him the tools to go with the flow as the fight moves around, we’re sharpening his role as an explosive fight-starter, surprise party enthusiast, and spooky scary... scarecrow. This also gives us room to dial back on some of the more binary parts of Fiddle’s kit, like his long-ranged fear or his permadrain. The result is a more interactive Fiddlesticks who’s better able to position himself to make plays.

Dread Passive - Dread

SCARECROW : Fiddlesticks gains Dread after not moving for 1.5 seconds. Immobilizing crowd control resets this timer. If Fiddlesticks has Dread, moving causes him to gain bonus movement speed.
DURATION : 1.5 seconds
MOVEMENT SPEED : 25/30/35/40% (at levels 1/6/11/16)

Terrify Q - Terrify

RANGE : [575] 525

Drain W - Drain

COOLDOWN : [10/9/8/7/6 seconds] 4/3.75/3.5/3.25/3 seconds
DRAINED : Cooldown now begins at the end of Drain’s channel

Dark Wind E - Dark Wind

NUMBER OF BOUNCES : [5] 7
TARGETING : Now prioritizes Drain targets

Crowstorm R - Crowstorm

CLOSE ENOUGH : Will cast at maximum range if cast out of range
STAND HERE FOR DEATH : Now uses the ‘On My Way!’ Ping

KennenSquare   Kennen

Kennen's niche of "dive the enemy team and stun kids" is well-defined, but the randomness of who his ult zaps means his teamfighting impact is often left up to chance. Sometimes Slicing Maelstrom focus-fires a priority target on the far edge of its range, other times it ignores the squishy that Kennen’s right beside as they saunter off to safety. This can be just as frustrating for Kennen’s opponents; it all depends on who draws the short straw. We’re removing Slicing Maelstrom’s randomness to make it more consistent for both sides: Kennen will always stun enemies he’s allowed to stay close to, so it’s nevewaste of resources to peel him off your backline.

On a separate note, we cleaned up a few weird numbers in Kennen’s other abilities. Notably, Electrical Surge’s range was overly generous, so we’re trimming it to keep Kennen in harm’s way if he wants to jolt his enemies.

General

ICONS : Kennen’s icons have been updated!

Mark of the Storm Passive - Mark of the Storm
#cleannumbers

MARK DURATION : [6.25 seconds] 6 seconds
FIRST STUN DURATION : 1.25 seconds (unchanged)
REDUCED EFFECT WINDOW : [7 seconds after last stun] 6 seconds after last stun
ADDITIONAL STUNS : [0.6 seconds] 0.5 seconds

Thundering Shuriken Q - Thundering Shuriken

COST : [65/60/55/50/45 energy] 60/55/50/45/40 energy

Electrical Surge W - Electrical Surge

COST : [45 energy] 40 energy
RANGE : [800] 750

Slicing Maelstrom R - Slicing Maelstrom

LIGHTNING ROD : Slicing Maelstrom is no longer limited to striking the same target three times per cast, but only the first three strikes on a target will apply Mark of the Storm
DAMAGE : 80/145/210 (+0.4 ability power) per bolt (unchanged)
DAMAGE FALLOFF 25% per bolt (50% minimum damage)
DURATION : [3/4/5 seconds] 3 seconds at all ranks
TICK RATE : [0.25 seconds] 0.5 seconds
MAX DAMAGE PER TARGET : [240/435/630 (+1.2 ability power)] 300/544/788 (+1.5 ability power)
EMP : Each tick now strikes every target in the area, including minions and monsters

SwainSquare   Swain

Despite his title, Swain’s largely failed to live up to his promise of a master tactician. Instead, Swain mains have come to embrace him as an unkillable teamfight-tanking monstrosity. Sometimes a champion having split identities can lead to balancing awkwardness (like Kalista, the solo outplay carry with insane teammate synergies), but Swain is more odd than problematic. Sure, ‘Commander Bird Monster’ is weird, but so is Shen being a tanky ninja. We’re not here to judge.

Rather than force one identity over the other, we’re looking at ways to enhance Swain overall. Regardless of why you play the Master Tactician, he’s a tanky mage with DoT’s and that’s not changing. Instead, Swain’s updates are about using his abilities in the right situations to overcome the odds. Careful optimization and placement of his bread-and-butter spells gives Swain the room to tactically outpace the opposition before morphing into an even-more-Ravenous-Flock for the teamfight checkmate.

General

BASIC ATTACK MISSILE SPEED : [1500] 1800

Carrion Renewal Passive - Carrion Renewal

VISUALS : Classic, Northern Front and Bilgewater Swain have received new mana regen particles
FLAT MANA REGEN ON KILL : [9-27 (at levels 1-18)] 12-30 (at levels 1-18)

Decrepify Q - Decrepify
Swain orders Beatrice to fly towards the center of target area foshort duration. While deployed, Beatrice will target the closest enemy, dealing damage per second and slowing it. Beatrice switches targets if the current target leaves or is killed.

COOLDOWN : 14/13/12/11/10 seconds
COST : 60/65/70/75/80 mana
CAST RANGE : 700
BEATRICE RADIUS : 350
DURATION : 4 seconds
SLOW : 20/25/30/35/40%
DAMAGE : 25/40/55/70/85 per second
RATIO : 0.3 ability power per second
MINION HATE : Deals 100% bonus damage to minions

Nevermove W - Nevermove

COST : [80/90/100/110/120] 80/85/90/95/100

Torment E - Torment

DAMAGE : [75/115/155/195/235] 50/80/110/140/170
RATIO : [0.8 ability power] 1.0 ability power
DAMAGE AMPLIFICATION : [8/11/14/17/20% of Swain’s damage] 20% of Swain’s damage at all ranks
TARGETING : If Swain afflicts someone with Torment, Decrepify will prioritize that target

Ravenous Flock Passive - Ravenous Flock
Swain spawns lesser ravens every 0.2 seconds, dealing damage to targets around him. Lesser ravens heal Swain upon returning to him. Prioritizes champions.

COOLDOWN : [8 seconds] 10 seconds
COST : 25 mana + [5/6/7] 5 additional mana per second 25 mana at all ranks
HEALING AGAINST MINIONS : [25%] 15%
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF RAVENS : [3] 5
PECKING IMMUNITY : Lesser ravens can’t attack the same target fo3 1 second

SyndraSquare   Syndra

The Dark Sovereign’s promise of transcendence into an ultimate being of power currently feels more likslight upgrade than an unlocking of untapped power . Syndra’s changes are light, but sharp: shifting power into the potential of Dark Spheres. By giving Syndra more influence through Spheres, we can reward her mastery of manipulation with masterful mid-fight CC combos. Syndra still has all the power necessary to crush a single target, we’re just adding an extra layer of expression to the mix.

Transcendent Passive - Transcendent

DARK SPHERE BONUS : [Dark Spheres deal 15% extra damage to champions] Spheres last an additional 2 seconds
FORCE OF WILL BONUS : [Force of Will’s slow duration increased to 2 seconds] Force of Will now grabs up to 2 additional spheres within 400 range of the primary target, increasing the size of the slow/damage zone on reactivation

Dark Sphere Q - Dark Sphere

RATIO : [0.6 ability power] 0.75 ability power

Force of Will W - Force of Will

THIS MUCH WILL : Now displays a maximum throw radius while bending units to your will

Scatter the Weak E - Scatter the Weak

COOLDOWN : [18/16.5/15/13.5/12 seconds] 16/15/14/13/12 seconds

VeigarSquare   Veigar

Veigar's potential to go infinite with Baleful Strike’s AP gain on kill is a good fit for his theme of “little ball of evil with an overcompensation problem,” but means Veigar should care more about farming pitiful minions than blasting down enemy champions. We're retooling the mechanic as Veigar's new e and opening it up to reward the Tiny Master of Evil for constantly asserting dominance over his opponents. While examining how Veigar antagonizes his enemies, we also changed Primordial Burst to give him the pick of the litter when obliterating low health enemies. He’ll have to press more than one button to erase an enemy mage, but even the most durable tank should carefully consider their health bar before re-engaging.

Phenomenal Evil Power Passive - Phenomenal Evil Power

KIND OF LIKE BIG DEAL : Striking an enemy champion with an ability power grants Veigar stacks of Phenomenal Evil. Phenomenal Evil gives Veigar 1 ability power per stack.

Baleful Strike Q - Baleful Strike

REWARD ON KILL : Grants a stack of Phenomenal Evil on kill. Grants 2 for large minions and large monsters
REWARD ON TAKEDOWN No longer grants 1/2/3/4/5 ability power on champion takedowns
COST : [60/65/70/75/80 mana] 40/45/50/55/60 mana

Dark Matter W - Dark Matter

COST : [70/75/80/85/90 mana] 60/65/70/75/80 mana

Event Horizon E - Event Horizon

COST : [80/85/90/95/100 mana] 70/75/80/85/90 mana

Primordial Burst R - Primordial Burst

DAMAGE : [250/375/500] 175-350/250-500/325-650 (based on target’s missing health)
RATIO : [1.0 ability power] 0.75 - 1.5 ability power (based on target’s missing health)

ViktorSquare   Viktor

Despite sporting a kit full of unique teamfighting tools, most of Viktor’s gadgets have been historically kept on a tight leash due to the efficiency of Death Ray’s infamous Augment: Shockwave. Viktor should feel rewarded for setting his schemes into motion (like trapping multiple enemies in a Gravity Field), but the ability powerto follow up with instant target deletion puts the ball too far in his court. By shifting Viktor’s damage to be higher over-time, we can hit two birds with one stone. Opponents aren’t evaporated for making a single mistake, and Viktor gets to carry a fight through intelligent play like the diabolical mastermind he is.

Siphon Power Q - Siphon Power

COOLDOWN : [10/8.5/7/5.5/4 seconds] 8/7/6/5/4 seconds
MISSILE DAMAGE : [40/60/80/100/120] 60/80/100/120/140
MISSILE RATIO : [0.2 ability power] 0.4 ability power
EMPOWERED ATTACK DAMAGE : [20-210 (at levels 1-18)] 20/40/70/80/100
BASE SHIELD : [30/50/70/90/110] 8% of Viktor’s total mana
SHIELD RATIO : [0.2 ability power] 0.15 ability power

Death Ray E - Death Ray

DAMAGE : 70/110/150/190/230 (unchanged)
RATIO : [0.7 ability power] 0.5 ability power
AUGMENTED DAMAGE : [100% of Death Ray’s damage] 20/60/100/140/180
AUGMENTED RATIO : 0.7 ability power
DETONATION REDUCTION No longer reduces detonation damage by 60% against targets already hit by Death Ray
RAY+AFTERSHOCK DAMAGE : [98/154/210/266/322 (+0.98 ability power)] 90/170/250/330/410 (+1.2 ability power)
LASER SPEED : [780] 1050
AUGMENTED EXPLOSION DELAY : [0.6 seconds] 1 second

Chaos Storm R - Chaos Storm

DURATION : [7 seconds] 6 seconds
INITIAL DAMAGE : [150/250/350] 100/175/250
INITIAL DAMAGE RATIO : [0.55 ability power] 0.5 ability power
TICK RATE : [0.5 seconds] 2 seconds
STORM DAMAGE : [15/30/45] 150/250/350
STORM RATIO : [0.1 ability power] 0.6 ability power
MAX DAMAGE : [360/670/980 (+1.95 ability power)] 550/925/1300 (+2.3 ability power)

XerathSquare   Xerath

Rite of the Arcane sets up Xerath’s unique high point: a long-ranged barrage that forces opponents to dance. However, it was often Arcanopulse with its consistent poke that gave him his siege monster reputation. While Xerath should be able to effectively siege with his basic abilities, we also want his signature ability powerto be more impactful, giving players a reason to access its power more often and for longer. By dialing back a little on the inevitability powerof Arcanopulse and upping the impact of Rite of the Arcane, we’re giving Xerath more chances to succeed with his ultimate, ensuring higher highs for experienced ascendants.

Arcanopulse Q - Arcanopulse

WIDTH : [150] 145
INDICATOR : Warning indicator now better matches the damage zone

Shocking Orb E - Shocking Orb

STUN DURATION : [0.75 - 1.75 seconds (based on distance)] 0.5 - 2 seconds (based on distance)

Rite of the Arcane R - Rite of the Arcane

DAMAGE : [190/245/300] 200/230/260
NUMBER OF BARRAGES : [3 at all ranks] 3/4/5
RANGE : Range increased by 10%
IMPACT RADIUS 190 : 200
DELAY BETWEEN SHOTS : [0.6 seconds] 0.8 seconds
ASCENDED VISION : Now zooms out to give Xerath a better view of the battlefield

ZiggsSquare   Ziggs

What would Ziggs do? The answer should almost always be “blow everything up,” but for an impulsive demolitionist, Ziggs spends a lot of time protecting turrets with his waveclear rather than knocking them down. Dialing back on his multi-lane wave clear lessens his ability powerto stall out games and drives more interactive gameplay with his opponents. In exchange, we’re giving the Hexplosives Expert the to bring the boom to his enemies’ turrets, chunking them down with Short Fuse procs before hexploding them with Satchel Charge when they’re vulnerable. Let no turret be left standing!

Short Fuse Passive - Short Fuse

RATIO : [0.25/0.3/0.35 ability power (at levels 1/7/13)] 0.3/0.4/0.5 ability power (at levels 1/7/13)
COOLDOWN REDUCTION ON ABILITY USE : [4 seconds at all levels] 4/5/6 (at levels 1/7/13)

Satchel Charge W - Satchel Charge

BOOM : Can now be used on turrets below 25/27.5/30/32.5/35% of their maximum health to instantly destroy them

Mega Inferno Bomb R - Mega Inferno Bomb

COOLDOWN : [120 seconds] 120/105/90 seconds
MINION HATE No longer deals double damage to minions

Mage Itemization

League’s current mana and mana regen itemization is largely focused around stat efficiency: which item gives me the best ability powerto ignore my mana costs? This doesn’t lead to much in the way of playstyle differentiation, meaning mages have little flexibility to buy into different team strategies or respond to the conditions of a match as it progresses. We’re strengthening the identities of the mana items to give mages better tools to alter the way they play.

Tear of the Goddess   Tear of the Goddess
Refunds a portion of mana spent.

Tear of the Goddess creates an odd conflict: it’s the mage item which gives the most raw mana (attractive to champions with high mana costs), but it has to be stacked up by constantly casting spells (something champions with high mana costs can’t afford to do). As such, it tends to be picked up by champions who can spam spells, making them effectively manaless as it stacks.We’re changing Tear’s pure regen to a mana refund, opening it up to high-mana cost champions, not just a select few spammers.

MANA REGENERATION [25%] 0%
MANA REFUND Refunds 15% of mana spent

Catalyst of Aeons   Catalyst of Aeons
Damage taken is converted to mana. Mana spent is converted to health.

For some mages, the world is their 1v1. The current mana items don’t feel great for them, given how many options are aimed at ely surviving the laning phase. We’re making Catalyst the item for constant mage brawlers who want to shoot first, shoot later, and then shoot some more, allowing them to make full use of their skirmishing tendencies.

NAME : [Catalyst the Protector] Catalyst of Aeons
COST : [1200] 1100
ETERNITY : UNIQUE Passive - 15% of damage taken from champions is gained as mana. Spending mana restores 20% of mana spent as health, up to 15 per cast (toggle spells heal for up to 15 per second).

Chalice of Harmony   Chalice of Harmony
Restores health or mana, whichever is at a lower percent.

Chalice is the go-to pick for champions who can easily clear waves, leading to a non-interactive lane phase as they spam their skills to keep the minions fighting at a safe distance. The new Chalice is still oriented at lane sustain, but in a way that encourages taking the occasional risk. If your health dips, Chalice will switch to healing you back up, ensuring you’ve got access to whichever regen effect you need most to dig your heels in for the long haul.

As a quick point of differentiation: while the new Catalyst rewards champions while they fight, Chalice lets them stay in lane after trades, making it ideal for champions who fall on the more ‘opportunistic’ side of the spectrum.

COST : [1000 gold] 900 gold
MANA FONT No longer restores 2% of missing mana every 5 seconds.
HARMONY Grants 100% base health regen per 5 seconds if your current health percentage is lower than your current mana percentage. Grants 100% base mana regen per 5 seconds if your current mana percentage is lower than your current health percentage.

Lost Chapter   Lost Chapter
Restores mana on level up.

With Morellonomicon emerging as the go-to kill pressure item (spoilers!), Forbidden Idol’s safe regen no longer belongs its build path. We’re pulling Lost Chapter out of the Black Market as a component item for champions like LeBlanc who are in lane to net early kills, offering timed bursts of massive sustain to set up a full spell rotation or two.

TOTAL COST : 900 gold
BUILD PATH : Amplifying Tome + Sapphire Crystal + 115 gold
ABILITY POWER : 25
MANA : 300
MANA INFUSION : UNIQUE Passive - Restores 20% of your maximum mana over 3 seconds upon leveling up

Fiendish Codex   Fiendish Codex
Cost and ability power increased.

When we looked at Fiendish Codex’s upgrades, we noticed one pattern: ridiculous combine costs. With more power in Fiendish Codex, players won’t have to sit on mid-tier components for so long.

TOTAL COST : [800 gold] 900 gold
COMBINE COST : [365 gold] 465 gold
ABILITY POWER : [25] 30

Will of the Ancients   Will of the Ancients

With the removal of Spell Vamp from items, Will of the Ancients is sailing into the sunset.

ANCIENT Removed from the shop

Rod of Ages   Rod of Ages
Less expensive. Ability power and mana reduced.

Rod of Ages has always offered the promise of a delayed but significant stat payout. These days, however, the identity of ‘big stat stick’ has lost meaning as items have evolved to serve more unique strategic purposes. The new Rod of Ages takes cues from Catalyst of Aeons: ride the efficiency of an early stat payoff (and a head start on your second item) to secure dominance over your enemies before they’ve built into more specialized item choices.

TOTAL COST : [3000 gold] 2600 gold
BUILD PATH : Catalyst of Aeons + Blasting Wand + 450 gold
ABILITY POWER : [80] 60
MANA : [400] 300
MANA PER STACK : [40] 10
ETERNITY : UNIQUE Passive - 15% of damage taken from champions is gained as mana. Spending mana restores 25% of mana spent as health, up to 25 per cast (toggle spells heal for up to 25 per second).

Morellonomicon   Morellonomicon
Gives mana instead of mana regeneration. Now restores mana on kill or assist.

For the duration of their existences, Morellonomicon and Athene’s Unholy Grail have had significant overlap, sharing three stats, two component items, and the same distinction of offensive mage items with best-in-slot mana regen. While they go about defining ‘offense’ in different ways

TOTAL COST : [2400 gold] 2900 gold
BUILD PATH : Lost Chapter + Fiendish Codex + Amplifying Tome + 665 gold
ABILITY POWER : [80] 100
MANA 400
MANA REGENERATION [100%] 0%
GOT THE RESET Kills and assists restore 20% of your maximum mana
CAN’T STACK ME : 20% cooldown reduction is now Unique
GRIEVOUS WOUNDS THRESHOLD : [Inflicted on enemies below 40% health] 35% health
GRIEVOUS WOUNDS DURATION : [5 seconds] 8 seconds

Athene's Unholy Grail   Athene's Unholy Grail
Heals allies based on damage recently dealt. No longer restores mana on kill or assist.

Athene’s Unholy Grail has taken on a new role as a team sustain item for aggressive supports (and off-supports) like Lulu, Morgana, and Karma. These enchantresses naturally alternate between directly engaging in combat and protecting their team; Athene’s rewards them for striking an optimal balance by granting them

TOTAL COST : [2700 gold] 2250 gold
BUILD PATH : Chalice of Harmony + Fiendish Codex + 450 gold
ABILITY POWER : [60] 40
MANA REGENERATION : [100%] 75%
NO MORE RESETS No longer restores 20% of your maximum mana on kill or assist
ACHING BLOOD UNIQUE Passive - 20% of pre-mitigation damage you deal to champions is gained as Blood Charges, up to a cap of 100-250 (at levels 1-18). Healing or shielding an ally consumes your current Blood Charges to heal that ally.
HARMONY Grants 100% base health regen per 5 seconds if your current health percentage is lower than your current mana percentage. Grants 100% base mana regen per 5 seconds if your current mana percentage is lower than your current health percentage.

 Tear of the Goddess upgrades

Carryover from the changes to Tear.


Archangel's Staff

Also affects Seraph’s Embrace.

MANA REGENERATION No longer grants mana regeneration
MANA REFUND Refunds 25% of mana spent


Manamune

Also affects Muramana

MANA REGENERATION No longer grants mana regeneration
MANA REFUND Refunds 15% of mana spent

Abyssal Scepter   Abyssal Scepter
Aura now scales with level and no longer affects minions. Now grants cooldown reduction.

In a mage-vs-mage matchup, the winner often comes down to who finishes Abyssal Scepter first. Its 30 ability power bump on completion synergizes with its magic resist reduction aura to creathuge combat advantage upon completion. If that weren’t enough, the aura also makes it much easier to push minion waves into the enemy turret, denying opponents the gold necessary to finish their own Scepter. We’re repositioning Abyssal Scepter to play up its defensive aspects, while tuning its aura to be less oppressive in lane but more relevant in the late game.

TOTAL COST : [2350 gold] 2750 gold
BUILD PATH : Fiendish Codex + Negatron Cloak + Amplifying Tome + 695 gold
ABILITY POWER : [70] 60
MAGIC RESIST : [50] 60
COOLDOWN REDUCTION 10%
MAGIC RESIST REDUCTION AURA : [20] 10-25 (at levels 1-18)
MINION HATE Aura no longer applies to minions

Zhonya's Hourglass   Zhonya's Hourglass
Less expensive, build path smoothed out. Ability reduced and cooldown increased. Now grants cooldown reduction.

Zhonya’s Hourglass struggles to maintain two very expensive characteristics: it’s a top-tier ability power item that also boasts one of the strongest actives in the game. Historically, this duality has forced us to lock Zhonya’s behind a steep price tag or awkward build path a usually both. There are other items which offer tons of ability power , but no other item shares Zhonya’s’ active, so we’re going all-in on its identity as a defensive utility item. That decision has allowed us to drop the price of Zhonya’s to the lowest it’s ever been in League history, making it more readily available in times its stasis effect is truly needed.

TOTAL COST : [3500 gold] 2900 gold
BUILD PATH : Seeker’s Armguard + Fiendish Codex + 800 gold
ABILITY POWER : [100] 70
COOLDOWN REDUCTION 10%
STASIS COOLDOWN : [90 seconds] 120 seconds

Hextech Item

Hextech Revolver   Hextech Revolver
No longer gives spell vamp. Now adds bonus damage to basic attacks.

Heading into our upgraded Hextech weaponry prompts an important question: why is all the spell vamp gone?

Let’s start by comparing it to lifesteal. Thematically, lifesteal gives the feeling that you’re fighting back against death, creating tenson a duels with uncertain outcomes. Mechanically, lifesteal says ‘I may havsmall health bar but you’ve got to focus me down or I’ll regenerate to full.’ Spell vamp, while sounding similar, doesn’t quite hit the same bar. Unlike basic attacks, no two abilities are the same, which makes the stat wildly variable in value.

This means that it’s functionally impossible to make spell vamp work the way you’d expect, and it instead operates on myriad edge-cases to avoid feeling abusive and unintuitive. Cut to today’s world where it’s only used on Vladimir (whose balance is kept lock-step with the stat), it’s easy to see why it had to go.

So why buy into Hextech? Revolver (and its upgrades) are all about benefitting the mid-range mages that have to scrap to survive. Like Catalyst for sustain or Tear for becoming a late-game monster, Revolver represents a commitment to securing advantages through combat. While everyone’s waiting to -up, Hextech provides the spike you need to get the snowball rolling.

TOTAL COST : [1200 gold] 1050 gold
COMBINE COST : [340] 180
SPELL VAMP No longer grants Spell Vamp
MAGIC BOLT UNIQUE Passive - Damaging an enemy champion with a basic attack shocks them for 75-150 (at levels 1-18) bonus magic damage. (40 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech items.)

Hextech GLP-800   Hextech GLP-800
Activate to spray enemies with icy bolts and slow them.

While back-line artillery or shield-heavy utility mages can load up on ability power in whatever combination to get by (thanks to range or mitigation), mages that get up close and personal are forced to buy whatever will give them the stats to survive combat. Following in Revolver’s footsteps, Hextech remedies this situation by saying ‘If you have to be in the middle of a fight, you should have the extra fire to customize how your encounters play out’.

Enter the GLP-800. Targeted at CC-heavy mages that like to skirmish, GLP provides an extra spell cooldown and source of damage that allows you more in-fight flexibility. Need to peel an ally from a pesky diver? GLP’s got that. Worried you can’t land your combo? GLP can let you hit-confirm your CC and lock opponents down for good. You can even waveclear with it in a pinch! Whatever your particular in-fight need is, the GLP-800’s got your back to enable the beefier mages out there with the tools to get the job done.

TOTAL COST : 3000 gold
BUILD PATH : Hextech Revolver + Catalyst of Aeons + 850 gold
ABILITY POWER : 80
HEALTH : 300
MANA : 400
ETERNITY : UNIQUE Passive - 15% of damage taken from champions is gained as Mana. Spending mana restores 25% of mana spent as Health, up to 25 health per cast (Toggle spells heal for up to 25 per second).
FROST BOLT : UNIQUE Active - Fires a spray of icy bolts that explode, dealing 100-200 magic damage (at levels 1-18). Enemies hit are slowed by 65%, decaying over 0.5 seconds. (40 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech items.)
FROST BOLT RATIO : 0.35 ability power

Hextech Protobelt-01   Hextech Protobelt-01
Activate to dash forward and let loose a volley of fiery bolts.

Where the GLP-800 is all about controlling distance via CC, the Hextech Protobelt’s all about picking the right moment fodaring maneuver. Whether you’re extending the effective range of a Flash Tibbers stun or dodging a crucial skillshot, Protobelt improves playmaking potential for those quick-witted enough to use its active. It’s not all sunshine and dash-extensions however; Hextech’s actives all sharcooldown, and Protobelt’s the least efficient in

TOTAL COST : 2500 gold
BUILD PATH : Hextech Revolver + Kindlegem + 650 gold
ABILITY POWER : 60
HEALTH : 300
COOLDOWN REDUCTION : 10%
FIRE BOLT : UNIQUE Active - Dash forward and unleash a nova of fire bolts that deal 75-150 magic damage (at levels 1-18). Enemies hit by multiple fire bolts take 20% damage from additional bolts. (40 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech items.)
FIRE BOLT RATIO : 0.35 ability power

Hextech Gunblade   Hextech Gunblade
Deals more damage and slows instantly.

We’ll square with you a Gunblade hasn’t changed much. Its ‘Omni-Vamp’ e sidesteps a lot of spell-vamp’s issues, proving effective on a wide range of mixed-damage champions. Instead of rocking the boat, we tied it to a lightning mechanic (and made the active match) so it plays nice with the other Hextech upgrades. If you’re looking for pure, hybrid offenslook no further.

TOTAL COST : 3400 (unchanged)
LIGHTNING BOLT UNIQUE Active - Instantly deals 250 magic damage to target champion and slows them for 40% for 2 seconds. (40 second cooldown, shared with other Hextech items.)
LIGHTNING BOLT RATIO : 0.3 ability power

Jungle Bosses

 Elemental Dragons
Dragon has now been replaced by four Elemental Drakes. Slaying each provides your team with a powerful permanent bonus that stacks on multiple kills of the same type.

Ever since launch, Dragon’s been an iconic objective to control in League. Whether it gives buffs or gold (or that time it spawned before minions did), Dragon’s purpose is to give people something to take risks and make decisions around. Fast forward to today, and while Dragon’s certainly very cool, it has its share of problems.

First, the static value of Dragon’s stacks allows you to answer the question of ‘Which stacks do a want and when?’ long before you ever have to make the decision to fight for them. This devalues individual Dragon spawns a why rush the 1st stack now when you can just get it later? Furthermore, denying at least one stack virtually removes the threat of Aspect of the Dragon's game-ending , making it more of a pipe dream than

DESCENT OF THE DRAGONS : For the first 35 minutes of the game, one of four elemental dragons will spawn every six minutes
FOUR’S A CROWD : Only three elements will appear per match!
A CHALLENGER APPROACHES : The minimap will indicate the elemental type of the next dragon spawn
DRAGON RUNES : Glowing runes inside the Dragon Pit will also indicate which dragon is spawning next (these runes are visible through Fog of War)

Mountain DrakeSquare Mountain Drake
Increases turret and epic monster damage. Augments your ability to take objectives.

EARTHEN ARMS : Slaying the Mountain Drake permanently grants 10/20/30% bonus true damage to Epic Monsters and Turrets.

Infernal DrakeSquare Infernal Drake
Increases champion killing power. Augments your dueling and team fighting abilities.

Infernal Tribute : Slaying the Infernal Drake permanently grants 8/16/24% increased Attack Damage and Ability Power.

Cloud DrakeSquare Cloud Drake
Increases out of combat movement speed. Augments your ability to outmaneuver opponents on the map.

Stratus Walk : Slaying the Cloud Drake permanently grants 15/30/45 bonus movement speed while out of combat.

Ocean DrakeSquare Ocean Drake
Restores missing health and mana. Augments your ability to siege and poke.

HEart of the ocean : Slaying the Ocean Drake permanently provides a regeneration effect that restores 10% of your missing health and mana every 18/12/6 seconds.

 Elder Dragon
Grants a powerful burn-over-time on spells and attacks. Increases the strength of your Elemental Drake buffs.

Previously, Aspect of the Dragon was a full closing tool -assuming the game ever hit a point where you could get it. Part of the promise of Elemental Dragons is that no matter which spawn in what order, controlling them is always valuable for you in the long run. Elder Dragon lets us kill two birds with one buff a cashing in on your hard-earned stacks and ensuring that both teams can leverage its strength (or steal it) to close out a game in style.

DRAGON TYRANT : After 35 minutes, Elemental Dragons will no longer spawn. In their place, the Elder Dragon will spawn every 10 minutes.
CRUEL ULTIMATUM : For the next 120 seconds, basic attacks and spells burn the target for 45 (+45 per stack of Elemental Drake buff) damage over 3 seconds
ELDER MASTERY : For the next 120 secconds, increases the strength of Elemental Dragon buffs by 50%

 Rift Herald
Now only spawns once. Rift Herald’s buff lasts an incredibly long time, persists through death, and provides amazing dueling .

Now that Rift Herald’s been out for nearly half a year, it’s time to reevaluate our goals. Originally added to introducnew dynamic between both halves of the Rift, Herald hasn’t quite made the splash we hoped for. Instead of driving action to the top side of the map, the Doom's Eve buff comes with too many conditions to be universally appreciated. Do i take this before or after taking a turret? Do I take it instead of a turret? When you trade lane pressure to take something that gives lane pressure, things get pretty muddy.

That brings us to today. When optimized, junglers solo Rift Herald with very little help or notice from their team and farm camps until it’s time to group. This wouldn’t matter much, except that no one seems to care about taking it. ‘Are they bot? Eh, we’ll take Herald a guess.’ Even after RH falls, there's no clear game impact a someone’s just ambiguously stronger foshort period of time. With Midseason incoming and an objective falling short of strategic significance, we went back to the drawing board.

With 6.9, we’re eliminating the confusion and refocusing Rift Herald to be an objective you really don’t want to give away for free. Enabling snowballing and split-pushers alike, Herald is a one-time event that puts the team it falls to firmly in the driver’s seat for the early stages of the game.

Rift Herald

SPAWN TIME : [4:00] 6:00
RESPAWN : Removed
BASE HEALTH : [5000] 8000
BASE ARMORR : [40] 60
BASE MAGIC RESISTANCE : [20] 50
BASE ATTACK DAMAGE : [95] 105
BACKSTAB DAMAGE : [15% maximum health] 12% maximum health

UPDATED Glimpse of the Void

NAME : [Doom’s Eve] Glimpse of the Void
DURATION : [2:00] 20:00
CORRUPTED BLOOD Glimpse of the Void is not lost on death or obtaining Hand of Baron
CORRUPTION : While no allied champions are near you, you gain 5% damage reduction against champions and continuously build charges of Corruption. At 100 charges, your next basic attack discharges all stacks of Corruption, dealing 15-270 magic damage (at levels 1-18, damage halved for ranged champions).

 Baron Nashor
Duration up.

Nothing too fancy, just amping Baron’s buff duration to ensure it’s worth consideration when trading end-game objectives (like maybe an all-powerful Elder Dragon).

Hand of Baron

DURATION : [3:00] 3:30

 Red
Red and blue buffs scale better, but expire faster.

Similar to our goals for the epic monster changes, we want red and blue buffs to be worth contesting. Ol’ Sentinel and Brambleback already had clear reasons to be taken, so we’re compressing their buff durations to accentuate the strengths they offer and scale them better into the late game.

Buff durations

DIMINISHING RETURNS : Red and blue buffs last 120 seconds the first timbuff camp is cleared, and 90 seconds on subsequent clears

Red buff

DAMAGE OVER TIME : [4 x level at 1.5 and 3 seconds] 2 + (2 x level) at 1.5 and 3 seconds
BURN ON HIT Now applies a free tick of damage on application or reapplication in addition to applying or extending the damage over time effect.
SLOW : [10/15/20% at levels 1/6/11] 10/15/25% at levels 1/6/11
HEALTH REGENERATION : [1% maximum health per 5 seconds at all times] 1/3/9% maximum health per 5 seconds at levels 1/6/11 when not in combat with champions, turrets, or epic monsters

Blue buff

ABILITY POWER : [2-36 ability power (at levels 1-18)] +15% bonus ability power
MANA REGENERATION : [5 + 0.5% maximum mana per second] 5 + 1% maximum mana per second

 Jungle Timers
Camps with timers indicate to both teams when they're close to respawning, via timers and the minimap.

We want to facilitate more engaging objective play. a big part of accomplishing that is making them more worth contesting, but we also want them to be more contestable, especially in games that are at a standstill. Clearly communicating respawn timers will facilitate more buff steal plays and objective fights, particularly in mid-late game.

HEADS UP : Jungle timers for all buff camp and epic monster respawns are now automatically granted to both teams at 60 seconds before spawn (vision of the takedown still grants the full timer)
INCOMING A respawn icon appears at the camp’s location on the minimap at 60 seconds before spawn, brightening at 20 seconds

Turrets

 Turret Stats
Turrets are more durable, outeinner turrets are more threatening, mages and assassins are better able to damage turrets.

As players have gotten better at diving turrets, the structures have ceased to be defensible locations where teams can makstand. We want to tone back on the perception of turrets as eventual sources of gold and instead let players feel good about defending the outermost reaches of their base (especially early game). Aggressive dives to punish laner mistakes should still bpart of the game, but we're balancing out the risk/reward distribution.

On the other hand, we want more champions than just marksmen to interact with the turret killing game. We’re rebudgeting turret defenses so that other champions will feel better about their ability powerto play demolitionist.

Outer & inner turret damage

HEATING UP : Turret damage increases by [37.5% for the second and third shots against champions, then 25% for the following two against a single champion (resets on target change)] 40% for the first three shots
STAY HOT : “Heating up” damage no longer partially resets when turrets switch targets
MAX DAMAGE : [225% over four shots] 220% over three shots

Defensive stats

BASE HEALTH : [4000] 3300
BASE ARMOR : 40
BASE MAGIC RESISTANCE : 40
TURRET PENETRATION Turrets are now subject to armor and magic penetration effects

Fortification
Outer turret early-game defensive buff now applies to non-champion sources as well.

FORTIFIED : [Blocks 30 damage from champion basic attacks] 35% damage reduction from all sources

Reinforced armor
Turret backdoor bonus now grants damage reduction instead of resistances.

BONUS ARMORR AND MAGIC RESISTANCEE No longer grants 200 armor and magic resistance
DAMAGE REDUCTION Physical and magic damage is now reduced by 66.66%

Ability power damage vs. turrets

REMINDER : When your ability power is more than double your bonus attack damage, your basic attacks against turrets scale with 50% ability power instead of 100% bonus attack damage
HYBRID DAMAGE Basic attack scaling off of ability power now deals magic damage to turrets (base damage still physical)

 Turret Rewards
Team gold rewards reduced.

The previous section covered our general thoughts on turrets, so we'll keep this short. Team gold rewards for outer and inner turret kills are too high compared to the payoff for anything else teams can invest in during the early game. While we've got changes to make the "anything else" more attractive (see: everything in the Jungle Bosses category), we want to make it clear that turrets are just one piece of the overall objective puzzle.

Outer turret rewards

LOCAL GOLD : [220] 300
GLOBAL GOLD : 125 per teammate [] 100 per teammate
MAXIMUM TEAM GOLD : [845] 800

Inner turret rewards

LOCAL GOLD : [250] 175
GLOBAL GOLD : [150 per teammate] 125 per teammate
MAXIMUM TEAM GOLD : [1000] 800
GLOBAL EXPERIENCE No longer grants 50 global experience

Inhibitor turret rewards

LOCAL GOLD : 50
GLOBAL GOLD : 150 per teammate (unchanged)
MAXIMUM TEAM GOLD : [750] 800

Game Pacing

 Jungle Experience
Monsters grant more experience to junglers but less to non-junglers.

The tactic of a solo player abandoning lane to farm monster camps with their jungler (we call it 'buddy jungling') evolved in response to the 2v1 lane swap. Rather than sit under tower, zoned out of experience, top laners ditch their lanes for safer prospects. Buddy jungling is enabled by the 'comeback' mechanic, which increases monster experience for lower-level champions. Though the jungler and top laner are both constantly underleveled due to splitting camps, comeback experience softens the punishment by adding net experience versus a solo clear.

The casualty of this technique is the early game itself: buddy jungling puts eight of the ten players on the Rift into a pure PvE situation. That leads to an incredibly stale opening phase of the match and eliminates the lane dynamics many of League’s early-game champs (Renekton!) rely on to make their impact.

We're putting a damper on buddy jungling by removing the experience efficiency granted to the buddy. That’s not to say it isn’t still situationally viablhaving two people in the jungle can offer strategic valuwe’re just ensuring it’s a

ONLY FOR THE WORTHY : Non-epic jungle monsters now only grant experience to their killers
CATCH-UP Jungle monster experience rewards no longer increase when you’re lower level than the slain monster
FARM RAZORBEAKS All Jungle items now grant 30 bonus experience on monster kill for each level higher the monster is than you
TIER 1 JUNGLE ITEMS : Hunter’s Machete and Hunter’s Talisman grant [15] 50 bonus experience on large monster kill
TIER 2 JUNGLE ITEMS : Stalker’s Blade, Skirmisher’s Sabre, and Tracker’s Knife grant [30] 50 bonus experience on large monster kill
HUNTING GROUND : Based on the above changes, total jungle experience rewards have been adjusted. Overall, junglers now get slightly more experience per clear while non-junglers get slightly less.

 Death Timers
Death timers reduced between 20-35 minutes.

We last checked in on death timers back in 6.7, shortening them in the 30-55 minute time frame. Results look positive, so we’re making another small nudge.

CAN I LIVE? : Death timers slightly reduced around the 20-35 minute window

 Homeguard
Homeguard duration and speed reduced, particularly early on.

Back in preseason we baked Homeguard into the standard Summoner’s Rift experience for two purposes: to create better boot enchantment diversity and to counter-balance increases to death timers. More on boot enchantments ater in these patch notes, but let’s talk about Homeguard’s coexistence with death timers.

Time spent dead creates a window of safety for teams to act, knowing that dead enemies are gray-screened in the fountain. On revival, Homeguard catapults champions out of base and into position to counter enemy sieges or rotations. Aside from just getting somewhere faster, the haste adds flexibility: if the enemy team appears bot as you’re heading top, Homeguard allows you to adjust before too much damage is done.

That flexibility creates a stalling effect as death timers tick down: “Can we take this turret before the enemy zooms in and dives our backline?” That unease shortens the window of safety to act, magnifying the effect of actual death timer reductions: a seconds off a 30 second death timer is actually a seconds off a ~25 second window. This is particularly true at earlier stages of the game, thanks to Homeguard’s static effects.

So, after leaving things untouched back in 6.7, we’re now toning Homeguard’s haste down to account for both rounds of death timer reductions and scaling it with game time to ensure its impact doesn’t choke out early aggression.

HASTE DURATION : [8 seconds] 7 seconds
HASTE AMOUNT : [175%] 75% at 20 minutes, scaling up to 150% at 40 minutes

Champions

AzirSquare   Azir
R no longer pins targets to walls

The flashy playmaking nature of Azir's ult befits his status as ruler of an empire, but Emperor's Divide becomes oppressive when it pins enemies against terrain for 5+ seconds. We're removing the abuse case to keep Azir honest.

Emperor's Divide R - Emperor's Divide

LET ME OUT : Emperor's Divide is less likely to pin enemies to terrain, instead pushing them over narrow walls or dropping them behind the phalanx if the wall is too thick

IllaoiSquare   Illaoi
Vessel debuff greatly shortened, but spawns tentacles faster.

Despite being Illaoi’s most interesting ability, Test of Spirit mostly ends up testing the patience of those involved. Being tested forces

Prophet of an Elder God Passive - Prophet of an Elder God

SEEK THE TRUTH : Tentacles no longer appear in Fog of War (Tentacles stay revealed once you’ve seen them for the first time)

Test of Spirit E - Test of Spirit

TENTAKILLS Vessels can no longer clear their debuff by killing Tentacles
TENTACLE ETIQUETTE Tentacles are no longer prevented from spawning if the Vessel is recalling
VESSEL DEBUFF DURATION : [60 seconds] 12 seconds
VESSEL TENTACLE COOLDOWN : Tentacles spawn near Vessels once every [10 seconds] once every 5/4/3 seconds (at levels 1/7/13)
VESSEL TENTACLE DENSITY : Tentacles spawned by a Vessel spawn [1000 units apart] 700 units apart

KindredSquare   Kindred
Q cooldown up while in Wolf’s Frenzy. W lasts longer and deals bonus damage to monsters.

Let’s call a wolf a wolf - Kindred’s early game is out of line. We want Kindred to be able to pressure the map (especially through expert control of their Marks), but invading top-tier duelists with impunity is pushing it. We’re adjusting their clearing ability powerto stay roughly the same, but Kindred will need to pick their battles a little more carefully if they want to start scaling out of control.

Dance of Arrows Q - Dance of Arrows

COOLDOWN WHILE IN WOLF’S FRENZY : [2 seconds at all ranks] 4/3.5/3/2.5/2 seconds

Wolf's Frenzy W - Wolf's Frenzy

DURATION : [8 seconds] 8.5 seconds
LESS VIGOR : Hunter’s Vigor gains less charge from movement
MORE HUNTING Hunter’s Vigor charges when Lamb basic attacks
WOLF BONUS Wolf deals 50% bonus damage to monsters

NidaleeSquare   Nidalee
Takedown’s execute now scales with ult rank.

While we’re on the subject, you can’t mention powerful early game junglers without mentioning the Bestial Huntress herself. Another outlier, we’re taking a crack at Nidalee’s early kill pressure while ensuring she has the bite she needs for her risky late-game assassination plays.

Takedown Q - Takedown

EXECUTE BONUS DAMAGE : [1.5% per 1% of the target’s missing health] 1/1.25/1.5/1.75% per 1% of the target’s missing health (based on rank of Aspect of the Cougar)

RengarSquare   Rengar
E no longer flies in random directions.

These are mostly bugfixes, with the exception of Bola Strike. Previously, Bola Strike would always try to fire at the location Rengar targeted once its cast delay completed. When targeting distant points, Rengar's movement (ex. a jump strike out of ult) during Bola Strike's short cast time wouldn't change much. When targeting a nearby spot, however, Rengar could suddenly end up in front of the target location he had previously been behind. Bola Strike would then fire in the complete opposite direction it was cast. We're changing Bola Strike's targeting system to fix that unreliability.

Unseen Predator Passive - Unseen Predator

THUNDER CAT : Rengar's jump strikes now proc Energized effects (Statikk Shiv, etc.)

Savagery Q - Savagery

SHARP CLAWS : Fixed a bug where Savagery consumed Spellblade or Dead Man's Plate effects without dealing damage

Bola Strike E - Bola Strike

TARGETING : Bola Strike fires [toward the spot Rengar targeted] in the direction Rengar cast it
CAST TIME : [Mostly 0.25 seconds but sometimes 0.125 seconds] 0.25 seconds
TANGLED UP : Fixed a bug where reaching max Ferocity at the same time as casting Bola Strike (ex. during Thrill of the Hunt) could put Em ed Bola on cooldown or immediately consume Rengar's Ferocity stacks

Thrill of the Hunt R - Thrill of the Hunt

NOT THRILLED : Fixed a bug where Rengar sometimes only gained 4 Ferocity after exiting Thrill of the Hunt

SorakaSquare   Soraka
Q slow and movement speed down. No longer refreshes Windspeaker’s.

Soraka’s changes are all about injecting more risk when she wades into the fray to provide assistance. Fochampion that already pumps out amazing heals, the strength of Soraka’s kiting doubles up on denying any sort of aggression that comes her way. By cutting down on Starcall’s over-the-top protective tools, Soraka becomes less of a one-stop-shop for protection without losing the healing potential she’s picked for.

Lastly, a quick note on Rejuvenation’s on interaction with Windspeaker’s Blessing. Windspeaker’s was made in a world without any healing over time effects a and as such, wasn’t really balanced around high uptimes. Enter Soraka’s Rejuvenation mechanic back in 6.5 and now she’s tossing around 6-8 second armor and magic resist buffs off of a single spellcast. It’s possible that we revisit this mechanic and work on clearly defined rules about how HoT’s (and other heals) should interact with Windspeakers, but for now we’re not comfortable with the amount of strength it’s adding to

Starcall Q - Starcall

SLOW AMOUNT : [30/35/40/45/50%] 30% at all ranks
REJUVENATION MOVEMENT SPEED : [15%] 10%
STARCALLER’S BLESSING Rejuvenation no longer refreshes Windspeaker’s Blessing

TaricSquare   Taric
Base mana up, mana growth down. W range down. E is shorter and narrower.

An old champion with a new coat of gems, Taric’s tearing up the battlefield while keeping his teammates spotless.A protector in the truest sense, the issue of Taric’s current level isn’t how well he saves his allies a but rather the considerable range at which he’s able to influence the fight. This doesn’t come up much in lane (as Taric’s usually next to his bastion-buddy), but once ganks and teamfights start entering the picture things get messy. We’re trimming Taric’s excess and focusing him around being the dependable shield you carry with youto a fight, committing him to stick close to his team if he wants to have the same impact.

General

BASE MANA : [250] 300
MANA GROWTH STAT : [75] 60

Bastion W - Bastion

MAXIMUM CAST RANGE : [1100] 800
MAXIMUM LEASH RANGE : [1600] 1300

Dazzle E - Dazzle

LENGTH : [650] 575
WIDTH : [150] 140

TeemoSquare   Teemo
More traps.

Alright. We know people are going to come into this section thinking ‘Why buff Teemo?’, but let’s be honest with ourselves. While Teemo’s always been a serviceable laner, the Swift Scout has been on the weaker side of the spectrum folong while. The root causes are many, but we’re targeting two: Teemo’s awkward mana usage, and his inability powerto set up the mushroom fields he’s known for.

Getting into specifics, Teemo players find themselves opting into sometimes ranking up Move Quick not because it’s particularly good, but so the costs of his other spells don’t go through the roof. Similarly, a Teemo that’s behind is pressured against laying traps due to their high cost and cooldown, making them lackluster when the enemy team’s already gaining control of the map. Releasing the mana pressures across Teemo’s kit allows him to spend more time thinking critically about when and where to use his abilities.

Camouflage Passive - Camouflage

SHH : Entering stealth won’t interrupt autoattacks in wind-up

Blinding Dart Q - Blinding Dart

COST : [70/80/90/100/110 mana] 70/75/80/85/90 mana

Noxious Trap R - Noxious Trap

COST : [75/100/125 mana] 75 mana at all ranks
AMMO RECHARGE TIME : [34/28/22 seconds] 30/25/20 seconds

ZacSquare   Zac
Revives faster at higher levels.

Most tanks have been excited to jump into the fray in 2016, but Zac’s been unexpectedly absent. Zac’s already best-in-class when it comes to getting into sticky situations, but Cell Divison shifts dramatically from an early-game boon to a limp extended late-game death. Considering long-range initiation is kind of Zac’s thing, the fact that he tends to land in risky situations shouldn’t feel as punishing as it does later on. We’re tweaking the Secret Weapon’s specs to help him maneuver the backlines and to give him a fighting chance of bouncing back into action (should his team provide the necessary assistance).

General

NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST : Updated recommended items
BASE MOVEMENT SPEED : [335] 340

Cell Division Passive - Cell Division

REVIVE TIMER : Blobs reform after [8 seconds] 8/7/6/5/4 seconds (at levels 1/5/9/13/17)

 Splash Updates

A few more longterm splash replacements!

Corki Splash 1 Olaf Splash 2 Sivir Splash 5 Trundle Splash 1 Trundle Splash 2 Trundle Splash 3

Items

 Boot Enchantments

With Homeguard no longer being tied to the enchantment system, almost all of the remaining options are very broad bonuses to movement. As seen earlier this season, bonus movement speed is a dangerous thing to stack, with boot enchants being a major contributor. When considering how warping Alacrity’s been toward introducing movement speed into the item system (and how potentially warping Captain or Fervor can be), we’re pulling the system to put a tighter leash on the ways champions can gain extra speed.

It’s possible that we’ll revisit the concept of boot enchants in the future, but only after we find ways for it help dodge mobility creep

DISENCHANTED Boot enchantments have been removed from the shop

Stalker's Blade - Devourer   Enchantment - Devourer
Goodbye, Ghost Dog.

For years we’ve tried to provide junglers an item that helps them burn through the jungle, but despite multiple seasons of iteration we’ve failed to find an incarnation of ‘stacking jungle rewards’ that wasn’t problematic. While Devourer is an incremental improvement over past incarnations (shout-outs to those who remember Feral Flare’s insane healing and vision control), the primary problem with ‘farming junglers’ is that you don’t see them for half the game. Junglers are an integral part of how teams in League operate, and incentivizing them to AFK for the 15 minutes is too high a cost to be healthy long-term. We still want to support junglers that like high attack speed and on-hit builds, but this isn’t the way to do it.

FINALLY SATED Enchantment: Devourer has been removed from the shop

Stalker's Blade - Bloodrazor   Enchantment - Bloodrazor
Everything old is new again.

Bloodrazor’s back from its years of traveling the world to be the jungle item we deserve. Attack speed junglers break down into different audiences, and Bloodrazor caters to both. Tankier on-hit champions (like Shyvana and Warwick) will find it an appropriate centerpiece to their natural synergies, while Kindred and Master Yi can pair it with Blade of the Ruined King and armor penetration for scaling builds.

The removal of Devourer and the inclusion of Bloodrazor means that junglers will feel better about jumping directly into battle after finishing their item rather than waiting for it to up. There will always be junglers who prioritize farming, and there will always be junglers that will rarely gank your lanthe key is that these decisions will be up to the player and their champion’s kits, not forced by the items they buy into.

TOTAL COST : 2625 gold
BUILD PATH : Tier 2 Jungle Item + Recurve Bow + 625 gold
ATTACK SPEED : 40%
BLOODRAZOR : UNIQUE Passive - Basic attacks deal 3% of the target’s maximum health as bonus physical damage (maximum 75 damage vs minions and monsters)

Guinsoo's Rageblade   Guinsoo's Rageblade
Upgraded to an end-game item. Now has Sated Devourer’s Phantom Hit e.

We couldn’t havsection with Devourer without addressing Guinsoo’s Rageblade as well. Rageblade’s a controversial item on live, but we’re convinced it feels far more overbearing than it actually is. Its blooms specifically in the hands of basic-attack focused champions looking to snowball a lead, versus being generically too ful. Even when it’s played on other champions (shout-outs to Tristana), it’s to fill a specific early-game niche.

That said, a large part of Guinsoo’s balance depends on it being kept behind a few really unsatisfying barriers. For instance, it has the worst build path in the gamcreating a low point of as you struggle to accumulate its exorbitant combine cost. On the flip side, finishing Rageblade spikes you far harder than most items at that price point, creating a race to keep Rageblade users down before they can become relevant. When the correct play against Rageblade is ‘snowball incredibly hard or lose,’ we can do better.

Our solution is to upgrade Guinsoo’s into a top-tier endgame item for the champions who value hybrid stats and on-hit builds. This allows fomore steady progression of , as well as allowing us to put the much-coveted ‘Phantom Hit’ e within arm’s reach of non-junglers. We’ll let you think of some of the more powerful combos (Aatrox?), but rewarding champions with access to top-shelf on-hit insanity once they’ve committed to combat feels like an appropriate gate for skirmishers and divers alike.

STILL RAGING Icon has been updated!
TOTAL COST : [2800 gold] 3600 gold
BUILD PATH : Blasting Wand + Pickaxe + Recurve Bow + 875 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE : 35
ABILITY POWER : 50
ON-HIT Deals 15 magic damage on-hit
GET MAD : Basic attacks grant +8% attack speed, +3 attack damage, and +4 ability power for a second (this effect stacks, granting Guinsoo’s Rage at max stacks)
MAXIMUM STACKS : [8] 6
MELEE PRIVILEGE No longer gives two stacks for melee champions
KEEP IT TOGETHER No longer deals AoE damage on-hit during Guinsoo’s Rage
PHANTOM HIT During Guinsoo’s Rage, every other basic attack will trigger on-hit effects an additional time

The Black Cleaver   The Black Cleaver
Cost reduced. -5 AD.

For those keeping up with recent top lane trends, builds have skewed toward the tankier end for the majority of 2016. Black Cleaver is a natural ‘release valve’ to help counter these champions, providing necessary shred and sticking to run down even the beefiest defenders. When we noticed that its primary users (Renekton, Gnar, Riven to namfew) weren’t in the best spot performance wise, it made sense to bring the item that binds them together down to the price-points of other important spikes.

TOTAL COST : [3500 gold] 3100 gold
COMBINE COST : [1150 gold] 750 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE : [55] 50

Spectre's Cowl   Spectre's Cowl
Costs more. More health, less magic resist.

After reshaping and reinforcing the equipment mages have at their disposal, it stands to reason that we’d bolster the options to defend against them as well. Maw and Abyssal Scepter are solid purchases for the damage-minded, but the marquee tank options of the magic resist family need some work.

All of that begins with Spectre’s Cowl. Funnily enough, Cowl actually has the opposite problem of its upgrades a it’s too efficient for its cost, to the point that tanks are often happy leaving it un-upgraded far into the game. We want them to feel good about sitting on Cowl in lane, but tinkering with its efficiency should pressure tanks into spending more gold to get their desired magical defenses.

TOTAL COST : [1100 gold] 1200 gold
HEALTH : [200] 250
MAGIC RESIST : [35] 30

Banshee's Veil   Banshee's Veil
Health and cost down. Recipe changed.

Banshee’s Veil offers an entirely unique effect in the item lineup, but its similar price-point and statline to Spirit Visage do more harm than good for BV’s chances of actually being purchased. Normally too expensive compared to its cousin, we’re shrinking Veil to be the earlier buy that guards against a burst mage gone wild, with an accordingly slimmer stat line. This makes it less effective in a full item build if you’re aiming for pure defense, but more accessible for those in need of a spell shield on a budget.

TOTAL COST : [2900 gold] 2450 gold
BUILD PATH : Spectre’s Cowl + Negatron Cloak + 530 gold
HEALTH : [500] 300

Spirit Visage   Spirit Visage
Combine cost and magic resist down. Regen and healing up.

On the other side of the Spectre’s Cowl, Spirit Visage is a popular pick-up that’s purchased for its pure protective stats. To differentiate it from Veil’s more immediate benefits, we’re pushing Spirit Visage to more comfortably fit within final builds by emphasizing its synergies with other tank items (like Warmog’s).

TOTAL COST : 2800 gold (unchanged)
COMBINE COST : [900 gold] 800 gold
MAGIC RESIST : [70] 55
HEALTH REGEN : [150%] 200%
PASSIVE HEALING INCREASE : [20%] 25%

Guardian Angel   Guardian Angel
Cost and magic resist reduced.

Despite our changes in 6.5, Guardian Angel’s still not pulling its weight as a reactionary defensive buy. Putting it on sale at the cost of a bit of mitigation helps cement GA as the go-to item when looking for life insurance against physical divers and assassins.

TOTAL COST : [2700 gold] 2400 gold
COMBINE COST : [1180 gold] 880 gold
MAGIC RESIST : [60] 45

 Quicksilver Sash & Mercurial Scimitar
Active now only removes crowd control debuffs.

The QSS and Mercurial Scimitar active has two uses: cleansing crowd control (Amumu ult) and purging combat debuffs (Zed ult). These cases differ in that crowd control is setup, while combat debuffs are the payoffs to such setup. When you cleanse CC, the enemy needs to lock you down again to aggress on you, but that tends to bpretty reasonable ask. By contrast, cleansing a combat debuff wipes the applicator's primary means of fighting you. So, those champs are pressured to snowball before their effects become meaningless, while their opponents are forced into buying QSS even if it's incredibly inefficient to do so. This leads to destructive effects on game balance which we've left unanswered for too long. With the understanding that there may be outliers we need to address, we're unshackling combat debuff champs from their quicksilver collars.

ACTIVE EFFECT : The actives of Quicksilver Sash and Mercurial Scimitar now only remove crowd control debuffs

 Hexdrinker, Maw of Malmortius & Sterak’s Gage
Sterak’s Gage and Maw of Malmortius shields no longer stack. Sterak’s Fury and Lifegrip now both proc when Lifeline is triggered.

Maw and Sterak’s have complementary defensive triggers: Maw cares about how low you are while Sterak’s cares about how fast you’re dropping. This presents an interesting choice in lane: which item is best for the situation you’re in? Unfortunately, that choice becomes meaningless as the game progresses and beefy champs stack both items to cover all their bases. We’re tying the shields of Maw and Sterak’s together to ensure that picking one is a choice, not just the earlier of two purchases.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY : Sterak’s Gage’s shield is now classified as a Lifeline effect along with the shields from Hexdrinker and Maw of Malmortius
ONE LIFE ONE LINE : When a Lifeline effect triggers, all Lifeline items are put on the cooldown of the triggered item. Only the triggered effect’s shield is granted.
DOUBLE DUTY : Sterak’s Fury and Maw’s Lifegrip are now both granted on either Lifeline trigger

Bami's Cinder   Bami's Cinder
Health down.

Compared to Giant’s Belt, Bami’s Cinder provides everything you want and more out of a defensive component. Given that it’s already got the offensive edge, we’re pulling back on Cinder’s efficiency so it’s not always

HEALTH : [300] 280

Sunfire Cape   Sunfire Cape
Cost up.

Similar to Bami’s Cinder, Sunfire’s efficient stats and hybrid offense/defense means it’s just the best early buy in most cases. Nudging it back to the price point of the other big Health/Armor makes it easier to pick the one for the right situation, not just whichever’s the cheapest.

TOTAL COST : [2700 gold] 2900 gold
COMBINE COST : [800 gold] 1000 gold

Stalker's Blade - Cinderhulk   Enchantment - Cinderhulk
Aura scales better with levels.

For an item meant to help tanks scale into the lategame, Cinderhulk’s been all but forgotten next to the shiny base damage of Runic Echoes. With Cinderhulk’s intended role as an investment toward a tank’s endgame statline, it didn’t make much sense for it to end up weaker than Sunfire Cape’s aura (considering they don’t stack). We’re fixing things to break even with old Cinderhulk at level 6, around when most junglers are completing it anyways.

IMMOLATE DAMAGE : [15 + 0.6 per level] 7 + 2 per level

Vision Ward   Vision Ward
Less health, but regenerates health while out of combat.

Yes, this is technically a Jhin buff.

With their rise in popularity (ever since Stealth Wards sold out), the prevalence of Vision Wards has highlighted how cumbersome it is to clear them out. In keeping with the themes of Midseason, we’re easing the burden of cutting down successive pinks while making them more valuable to defend. Vision Wards have always been a mini-objective, so now we’re formalizing it.

BASE HEALTH : [5] 4
REWARDING Now regenerates 1 health every 3 seconds after 5 seconds out of combat.

Farsight Alteration   Farsight Alteration
Cooldown up.

When it comes to diversity of Trinkets, Farsight’s been on top of the vision-throne for long while. Come mid-game, stacking Farsight trinkets changes the vision game drastically a rendering certain strategies revolving around making picks or ambushing virtually obsolete. We’re happy that Farsight’s more flexible in a wider number of vision-control strategies, we’re just adjusting so it’s not also crowding out the space entirely.

COOLDOWN : [90-60 seconds (at levels 9-18)] 148-99 seconds (at levels 9-18)

Righteous Glory   Righteous Glory
No longer speeds up allies. Active speed amount and duration increased.

In its current incarnation, Righteous Glory presents us with a few balancing troubles. When it’s too strong, it replaces traditional initiation and warps the environment to be ‘who are the best carriers of Righteous Glory and why aren’t you playing them?’ We’re removing that consideration altogether and really pushing its synergies with individual champions. It’ll be easier than ever for Righteous Glory users to run down fleeing targets, but they'll need more clever coordination than just ‘run as-in-straight-line’ to start off a chaotic brawl.

ETERNITY UNIQUE Passive - 15% of damage taken from champions is gained as Mana. Spending mana restores 25% of mana spent as Health, up to 25 health per cast (Toggle spells heal for up to 25 per second).
ASSEMBLE Active no longer speeds up allies
ACTIVE MOVEMENT SPEED : [60%] 75%
ACTIVE HASTE DURATION : [3 seconds] 4 seconds
ACTIVE SLOW : [80%] 75%
ACTIVE SLOW DURATION : [1 second] 2 seconds

Warmog's Armor   Warmog's Armor
Health slightly reduced, now grants cooldown reduction.

Despite its game-changing out-of-combat regeneration, Warmog’s Armor struggles to find a spot in builds for tanks and juggernauts alike. It’s not that the item’s subpar, but it simply doesn’t fit what most champions in these classes really need out of a gold investment. Tossing in

TOTAL COST : 2850 gold (unchanged)
BUILD PATH : Giant's Belt + Kindlegem + Crystalline Brace + 400 gold
HEALTH : [850] 800
COOLDOWN REDUCTION 10%

 Relic Shield Line
Less healing.

While not specifically tied to any of our other systems changes, botlane’s feeling a little high on resources these days. The botlane meta’s always lived between the extremes of being an all-in lane with low tolerance for mistakes and a sustaining paradise where poke and attrition mean very little. The pendulum’s a little too far on the ‘poke matters less’ part of that spectrum, so we’re toning back sustain from some of the more common purchases.


Relic Shield

CHARGE COOLDOWN : [60 seconds] 40 seconds
HEALING PER CHARGE : [40 health] 20 health


Targon's Brace

HEALING PER CHARGE : [50 health] 40 health

 Spellthief's Edge Line
Less mana regeneration.

Regeneration overall is


Frostfang

MANA REGENERATION : [100%] 75%


Frost Queen's Claim

MANA REGENERATION : [100%] 75%

Arcane Sweeper   Arcane Sweeper

It’s a creepy eyeball. Was this ever really hextech to begin with?

NAME : [Hextech Sweeper] Arcane Sweeper

Grievous Wounds

Reverted to affect all healing, not just self-healing.

Sometimes, changes don’t really work out. This is one of those times. Grievous wounds working off of self-healing created a sense of hopelessness when facing stronger healers and general confusion about what applying it would functionally do. We’re reverting it to make sense with the expectation of what a healing debuff should do.

GENERALLY GRIEVOUS : Reduces [self] all healing received by 40%

Skin Clarity Updates

Like our recent work on Underworld Twisted Fate, we're revisiting eight skins whose VFX were pretty far below clarity standards. (Fun fact: all eight skins were disabled in competitive play.) Skins should be fun, alternative fantasies, not competitive advantages, so we're bringing their visual effects up to par.

  • Ravenborn LeBlanc’s launch pads for Distortion are brighter and slightly larger
  • Cosmic Reaver Kassadin’s Null Sphere projectile is larger. Added a ring element for E- Force Pulse’s ready state.
  • Headhunter Caitlyn’s Headshot now has glow particles on her hands when ready (in addition to the ones on her gun)
  • Lunar Revel Caitlyn’s basic attack is now less noisy and aligns more with her base
  • Blood Moon Elise’s Cocoon looks more like a cocoon, as opposed to Ahri's Charm. Skittering Frenzy has been cleaned up and now leaves the screen faster and is less noisy.
  • Firecracker Jinx’s Fishbones explosions have been cleaned up and have less smoke effects
  • Forecast Janna’s Howling Gale has been lightened for better visibility
  • Dark Valkyrie Diana’s Crescent Strike particle has been modified to make the brights brighter and darks darker

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bug where Karthus's abilities sometimes failed to apply the slow from Rylai's Crystal Scepter during Death Defied. (We jumped the gun on listing this last patch - sorry!)
  • While in Death Defied, Karthus no longer creates extraneous visual effects when casting Lay Waste out of range
  • Quinn no longer fails to proc Harrier when attacking a marked target immediately after canceling an attack
  • Oracle Alteration now indicates its sweep range when hovered
  • Fixed a bug that prevented players from joining premade lobbies while waiting out queue dodge penalties
  • Fixed a Clubs tag display issue with tags that started with a "-"
  • Fixed a bug where some players couldn't see their own Clubs tag in New Champ Select lobbies
  • Ward placement VO lines no longer play globally for allies on some champions and skins
  • Snow Day Singed's recall audio is no longer global
  • Battlecast Alpha Skarner no longer occasionally plays base Skarner's VO
  • Gravelord Azir no longer sometimes plays base Azir's VO on top of his own lines
  • Blackfrost Anivia's Rebirth channeling audio has been restored

Upcoming Skins

The following skins will be released during patch 6.9:


Kayle Splash 8

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